News

Site News: iPad replaces Apple TV on iLounge main page

By Jeremy Horwitz ● Thursday, April 15, 2010

It was inevitable once Apple TV news slowed to a trickle and iPad information began to flow steadily: as you may have noticed over the past few days, we’ve pulled the Apple TV from our top-of-main-page promotional area and replaced it with a dedicated iPad section. If you haven’t tried this feature of iLounge before, it’s worth exploring today: separately spotlighted iPod, iPhone, iPad, and other stories—iTunes, Backstage, and others—can be viewed with a single click of the “iPod,” “iPhone,” “iPad,” and “More” buttons near the top center of our index.

We’ll still continue to offer Apple TV news, tutorials, and reviews, of course: going forward, you can look for them under the “More” section.

Comments

1

Good move.

Posted by Jeremy Horwitz in East Amherst, NY, USA on April 15, 2010 at 11:52 AM (CDT)

1

It’s amazing, and somewhat ironic, how many flash-based ads (for iPad and iPhone products, no less) are on the iLounge homepage. Two ads have the good sense to use animated gif, though I wonder if there’s a better/easier non-flash alternative than that?

Posted by Jeremy Horwitz in East Amherst, NY, USA on April 15, 2010 at 12:26 PM (CDT)

1

If you browse iLounge.com with an iPhone or iPad you will see alternate gif, jpg or png ads.

Posted by Jeremy Horwitz in East Amherst, NY, USA on April 15, 2010 at 12:38 PM (CDT)

1

I would imagine that the iPad has replaced the AppleTV in Apple’s mind, too. If you gave it over-the-air sync., AirTunes, and the ability for it to be controlled with Apple’s Remote application, the AppleTV would be obsolete.

Posted by Jeremy Horwitz in East Amherst, NY, USA on April 15, 2010 at 12:53 PM (CDT)

1

The Apple TV can also display native 720p through component or HDMI outputs. The HDMI output is HDCP-protected, but HDCP cannot be used over component outputs.

The IPad would therefore also need an accessory that provides the same native 720p output to a TV, since many still want to watch content on a larger screen. The Apple AV Component cables only put out 480p, and content purchased from the iTunes Store is HDCP-protected and cannot be played over the iPad VGA Adapter, which really isn’t practical for a normal TV connection for most users anyway.

I suspect Apple or some third-party developer will eventually release a cable or dock for the iPad that supports HDMI output. I’m a bit more skeptical that any kind of non-protected component output will ever be possible, however. In many ways I’m surprised Apple ever got away with that on the Apple TV, but that product dates back to when HDCP and HDMI were still in their infancy.

Posted by Jeremy Horwitz in East Amherst, NY, USA on April 15, 2010 at 2:38 PM (CDT)

1

actually i think apple tv gets a lot of undeserved criticism. sure it could be more especially if they added apps and game controllers but it’s a pretty decent movie rental box. i has more selection and a buck cheaper than my time warner cable on demand movies. for that only i can save money on rentals.

Posted by Jeremy Horwitz in East Amherst, NY, USA on April 16, 2010 at 12:48 PM (CDT)